


A Desert Sky Full of Stars

by smolpotatofics



Category: Invader Zim, Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Aged-Up Dib (Invader Zim), Alien Character(s), Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dib & Zim Friendship (Invader Zim), Dib is Of Legal Age (Invader Zim), Dib is So Done (Invader Zim), Domestic Fluff, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, For Science!, Frenemies, Frenemies Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Gay Panic, Ghosts, Haunting, Hurt/Comfort, Investigations, Monsters, Night Vale, Night Vale Community Radio, Older Dib (Invader Zim), Paranormal, Paranormal Investigators, Road Trips, Scientist Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale), The Swollen Eyeball Network (Invader Zim), Trans Dib (Invader Zim), Typical Night Vale Violence, Typical Night Vale Weirdness, bamsara au, steve carlsberg bakes cookies, zim almost murders someone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-19 06:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29870271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolpotatofics/pseuds/smolpotatofics
Summary: Dib has a new assignment from Swollen Eyeball to investigate a series of hauntings in a small desert town. He enlists Zim's help (and more importantly, his Voot) and the pair set off to find out what's going on in Night Vale.Welcome to Night Vale/Invader Zim crossover set vaguely in Bamsara's IZ AU (go read their fics if you haven't already, they're awesome!). There will be banter, there will be spoopy ghosts, and don't worry, there will be plenty of angst.
Relationships: Carlos & Cecil Palmer, Carlos/Cecil Palmer, Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Steve Carlsberg & Janice
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Visitors

_ “Dear listeners, it appears we have two new visitors to our humble desert community. They arrived late last night from an unknown location, and one witness reports that they came from the sky. This claim, however, should be viewed with skepticism, given that the witness was none other than Steve Carlsberg. Even if Steve is right, which he probably isn’t, one thing at least is clear. The visitors cannot be angels because, as we all know, angels are not real. Also, Old Woman Josie told me that her angels, all of whom are named Erica, deny any knowledge of these strangers’ identities.  _

_ “What do these visitors want? What are their plans for coming here? Why does Steve Carlsburg insist on remaining an embarrassment to our town? More on this story as it develops.” - Night Vale Community Radio Host, Cecil Palmer _

* * *

The sun beat down through the Voot’s windshield onto Dib’s neck as he fiddled with the radio. He let out a long sigh, shifted in his chair, and turned to face his companion.

“I knew we should have landed further away,” he complained, brushing back hair from his slightly damp forehead. “This is prime alien spotting country. I tried to tell you that people would notice us.”

“What, people as crazy and alien-obsessed as you?” Zim smirked as he spoke, sharp teeth glinting in the bright daylight. “Relax, Zim’s disguises are foolproof. No stupid humans will pay us any attention.”

With that, a metal leg extended from his pak, holding something tan and floppy. Zim grabbed the object, stuck it on his head, and turned back to Dib with a huge grin. 

“Eh?” he said, proudly displaying the cowboy hat hiding his antennae. “What do you think?”

“Oh my god,” Dib groaned, burying his face in his arms. “This is already a disaster.”

Zim sniffed. “You’re just unable to appreciate genius when you see it.” He took off the hat and lobbed it at Dib’s head, cackling once it hit its target, and turned to change out of his uniform into one of Dib’s old shirts. 

Dib ignored him, reaching into the backpack at his feet and rifling through it for his notes. Regardless of Zim’s ridiculous antics, he was here for a reason, and he had to at least try to make some progress before the citizens of Night Vale decided to run them out of town with burning stakes. 

He wished, not for the first time, that he had just saved up for a plane ticket instead. But he was on thin ice with Swollen Eyeball after the siren incident, and he knew that this investigation was his chance to make up for all the equipment damages he’d caused back then. 

He pulled out a stack of paper, glancing at each sheet until he found the one he was looking for. On the top of the page, the name STEVE CARLSBERG was written in Dib’s messy handwriting, and below it was an address. 

Dib bit his lip and looked back and forth between the paper and the desert outside. He hoped that Swollen Eyeball had given him a useful contact, otherwise this investigation would be even more challenging than he’d thought. 

Luckily, he had time on his side. He’d told his dad that he was doing a roadtrip with his friend, and now that he was technically a legal adult, Dib was free to go off on his own for however long he wanted. 

In fact, his dad had seemed happy that Dib was getting away from his hometown for a while. At least, his voice had sounded cheerful. It was hard to make out any expressions behind that high-collared lab coat. 

Only Gaz knew what Dib was really up to. He figured it didn’t hurt to have his sister in the know just in case Zim went batshit and tried to kill him… again. 

With that pleasant thought in his mind, Dib pushed back against the Voot’s control panel and stood up. 

“We should get going,” he said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “The sooner I can talk with my contact the better.” He held out his hand to Zim, sitting in the pilot chair, who eyed it warily. “I don’t bite,” Dib told him teasingly, wiggling his fingers. “Unlike some people.” 

He touched his neck with his other hand and grimaced at the lingering memory of Zim’s teeth in his flesh. He still got phantom aches sometimes, more than a year later. Zim rolled his eyes and took the proffered hand, standing up slowly. 

They stepped outside the Voot into the desert and all Dib could process was  _ hot _ . The air shimmered around him and Zim, obscuring everything within view. Of course, ‘everything’ consisted only of miles of barren sand and the hazy silhouette of a small town about a mile away.

“Are you planning anything stupid I should know about now?” Zim asked as they began to walk towards the town of Night Vale. 

Dib flashed him a lopsided smile. “Who, me?”

* * *

“Are you two the strangers Cecil mentioned on the radio?” Steve Carlsberg’s face scrunched up with excitement as he asked the question. He stood in the front entryway of his suburban home, a baby blue apron stretched across his stomach. 

“Where are my manners? I haven’t even said hello. Hello!” He waved cheerfully at Dib and Zim, who waited on his front steps. Steve had answered almost immediately after they’d knocked.

“Um, hi,” said Dib, returning the wave awkwardly. “I’m Dib Membrane, codename: Agent Mothman. Swollen Eyeball sent me to talk with you.” 

Steve’s smile widened. “Ah, I love those guys!” he said. “Nobody around here ever listens to me, but everyone at Swollen Eyeball says I’m a real missionary of truth.” 

He gestured at Dib and Zim to follow him inside, and they entered into a short hallway. “I have some cookies fresh out of the oven, if you’d like,” he told them. “They’re for my daughter Janice’s Girl Scout meeting today, but I made a few extra. Just in case.” He looked over his shoulder and winked. 

“Zim will have one of these cookies,” Zim announced, walking behind Dib. “As long as they do not contain any meat.” Dib glared at him. 

“Ha! You’re a funny one,” said Steve, as he led them into a small but comfortable kitchen. A tray of golden-brown cookies sat on the table, and Steve put two of them onto a small plate, handing it to Zim. “Only chocolate chips in these, I promise.” 

Zim briefly sniffed at one of the cookies before shoving it into his mouth. Dib reached over and grabbed the other one from the plate before the alien could eat it as well. 

“So, Mr. Carlsberg,” Dib began.

“Please, just call me Steve.”

“Okay, then. Steve,” he continued. “I want to ask you some questions about the hauntings you’ve reported around here.” He took a bite of the cookie and looked at Steve expectedly.

Steve paused while untying his apron and raised an eyebrow at Dib. “Oh, that’s why you’re here?” he asked. “I thought you were here for the arrows in the sky. Isn’t that why you’ve brought your alien friend?”

“W-what?” Dib choked on his cookie, and as he struggled to breathe again, he felt Zim shift beside him. 

In an instant, Steve was pinned against the refrigerator by one pak leg, and another hovered just in front of his throat. He let out a little yelp. “Zim, stop!” Dib managed to say through his fit of coughing. “Put him down!”

Zim didn’t look at him. “He knows too much.”

Dib cursed under his breath. He had almost forgotten that, as tame as Zim acted around him, he had killed people before. Lots of people. He was sort of an awful person, and it was times like this when Dib questioned their friendship the most deeply.

“Zim,” he tried to keep his voice steady. “You can’t just kill our contact. You can’t just kill anyone, for that matter!”

Steve nodded in a panicked kind of way, gasping again as the sharp edge of Zim’s pak leg pressed harder against his throat.

“Look, look,” Dib grabbed one of Zim’s arms, praying to whatever gods would listen that the alien didn’t decide to kill him as well. “We’ll swear him to secrecy, ok?” 

Zim barked out a short, humorless laugh. Steve stared at Dib helplessly as the investigator racked his brains for something else to convince Zim to not commit a murder.

“No one would even believe him, anyway,” he continued. “It’s not like anyone ever believed me.” He fell silent. 

There was a moment of stillness, then Zim slowly retracted his pak legs and Steve slumped to the floor, breathing heavily. 

Dib exhaled, releasing tension he hadn't even noticed. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.” 

But Zim wasn’t quite finished. He walked briskly over to Steve and grabbed his collar with one hand. Baring his teeth, he pulled Steve up to his face and hissed, “If you ever speak a word of this to anyone, I will utterly and completely destroy you, earth-scum. Understood?” 

Steve nodded, sweat dripping down his forehead. “Clear as crystal! Not a peep out of me, oh no!”

“Are you finished now?” asked Dib, leaning against the counter. “I have a few questions that I want to ask him, if you’re done playing bad cop.”

“Hmph.” Zim dropped Steve back on the ground and stalked over to the edge of the kitchen. He crossed his arms and glared at the humans. 

Dib went over to Steve and offered him a hand, which was gratefully accepted. “Right,” he said. “Sorry about my… partner. He’s, um, overzealous sometimes.” He frowned in Zim’s direction before giving Steve his attention again. “Let’s talk about the hauntings.”


	2. Advice from Steve Carlsberg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gives some advice, Zim throws things, and Dib just tries to deal.

“They don’t appear at any particular time,” Steve began, scratching at the back of his neck absentmindedly. “But they always appear in the house, often in the bedrooms. The other day, I was outside potting some new flowers when I saw one through the window. It was in my living room, like it lived there or something. They all look pretty much like normal people, except they’re always hanging upside down, and their hair and clothing is all floaty as if they’re in outer space.” 

He paused and leaned in closer to Dib. 

“Y’know, Cecil always says that I shouldn’t talk about space, because the existential terror of the void is not meant for mortals and whatnot, but I think it’s actually quite interesting. Especially the arrows in the sky. I even have my own telescope, but I have to keep it hidden so the Sheriff’s Secret Police don’t take me away for reeducation.” 

He grinned shyly at Dib, and the investigator found himself smiling weakly back. Steve was a likable guy, even if he seemed overly comfortable sharing dangerous information with strangers. At least his fascination with space explained how he knew Zim was an alien. 

In fact, when Dib thought about it, it was kind of weird that Steve was the only other person, besides his sister, to acknowledge that Zim wasn’t human. If it hadn’t been for Gaz, Dib might have chalked it up to his own alleged “insanity”. After all, nice as Steve Carlsberg was, he wasn’t about to win any prizes for most reliable citizen of the year. 

Dib’s thoughts were interrupted by something small and round hitting his glasses. “Gah!” He looked down to see the culprit, one of Steve’s cookies, lying on the floor. Dib whipped his head around to meet narrowed purple contacts. “What the hell, Zim? Wait outside if you can’t control yourself.” 

Zim growled at him, but stood up and walked heavily out of the kitchen. Dib rubbed his temples and turned back to Steve. 

“Sorry again,” he muttered. “I guess you’ve realized that Zim is kind of terrible.” 

Steve chuckled. “Ah, yeah,” he admitted. “He’s definitely not my type, but to each their own. My brother-in-law, Cecil, he’s just like that sometimes. Deep down I know he has a good heart, but sometimes he can just be real mean.” He frowned, eyes slightly unfocused. Then he shook his head and smiled. “But whenever he’s with that scientist of his, you can see the good parts of him. I guess that’s what you are for your partner there.”

Dib sighed. “Maybe. Who even knows with Zim?”

Steve laughed. “Who knows, indeed? Love is a funny thing.”

“Wait, what?” Dib felt his face flush crimson. “No, no, that’s not what I meant at all. We’re not- no!”

“Anyways, about the hauntings,” Steve continued, casually ignoring Dib’s reaction. “So far, none of the ghosts have seemed violent or dangerous, but I’ve been seeing them more often. Last night, I went to check on Janice, and I saw a young one, probably about her age, just floating there. Its mouth was open as if it was screaming but it wasn’t making a sound. Normally, I’d just have let it be, but the thought of anything creeping around in my little girl’s room… I tried to shoo it away with a broom, but nothing seemed to work. I waited there for an hour or so and then it disappeared, just like that.”

Dib bit his lip. This didn’t seem particularly novel, just a usual haunting. If he played his cards right, he could perform an exorcism tonight and be out of town by the morning. The less time he had to spend here with an increasingly aggressive alien, the better.

“Alright,” he said. “I can come by later tonight with some equipment and try to get rid of the ghosts.” 

Steve interrupted him. “It’s not just here, though. I was over at Diane Crayton’s home to discuss some PTA matters, and I saw one in her living room! I tried to point it out to her, but it vanished as she turned to look. I think she’s always thought that I was crazy, so this probably didn’t help much.”

That was strange. One house being haunted was nothing out of the ordinary, but multiple? There had to be some sort of connection. 

“Are there any other places you’ve seen these ghosts?” Dib asked. 

Steve brought his hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. “Not really,” he said. “I’ve only ever seen them in people’s houses, though, never in any stores or public places. In fact, you know who I haven’t thought to ask about them? Cecil’s scientist boyfriend. Carlos spends a lot of time studying that house he says doesn’t actually exist. I wonder if he’s seen any of the ghosts there.”

“Could you tell me where I can find him?”

“Sure,” replied Steve. “He has a lab over by Big Rico’s Pizza. It’s all full of beakers and humming electrical instruments and the like. You should ask him some questions. He might be more helpful than me.”

Dib stood up. “You’ve been really helpful, Steve, and I appreciate it.” He sucked in air through his teeth. “And you’ve put up with a lot from my partner. I promise, I’ll keep an eye on him, and you don’t need to worry about his stupid threats. I still wouldn’t tell anyone about him, though, y’know, for reasons.”

Steve grinned. “I got you. Let me know if you get any good information from Carlos! I’m very curious myself to see what’s behind these hauntings.” 

Dib nodded, then cringed as a crash resounded from outside. “I think that’s my cue,” he said, and hurried out to the front door. 

* * *

Zim stood sullenly by the front door, his cowboy hat pulled down over his face and the ceramic shards of a broken flower pot littering the sand around him. 

“Why are you like this?” Dib pinched the bridge of his nose as he stepped out of the house. “Are you actively trying to make my life more difficult?”

“Always, bighead.”

Dib thwacked his arm. “Whatever, freak, let’s just get going. I have a new lead.” He looked down at the remains of the flower pot and sighed. “I guess I’ll have to come back here later and pay Steve for your property damages.” He considered sending Zim to wait in the Voot, but he knew that the alien would never agree to that. He’d probably do his best to be even more annoying instead.

For better or for worse, he was stuck with the alien until this case was closed or he was killed. At this rate, Dib had a sinking feeling that the latter option wasn’t so unlikely. He hoped that Carlos the Scientist might be able to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! I love getting comments, let me know what you think of the fic or just what's on your mind. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you liked this, please feed me comments and I will be eternally grateful!


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